In drawing,
the term "foreshortening" refers to a method of representing
an object in a picture in depth. For example, imagine how a standing man
looks in terms of dimensions, seen from the front. Now imagine that this
figure has been allowed to fall gently backwards, until stretched lengthways
on the ground, with his feet pointing towards you and his head furthest
away. If you wish to sketch this figure, the law of linear
perspective dictates that, since his head is further away than his
feet, you should make it appear smaller, so as to convey the illusion
of 'depth' in the drawing - i.e. that it is receding away from the viewer
into the picture space. Conversely, since the feet are now closer, they
should appear larger. Most importantly, the figure's torso and limbs should
be compressed or 'shortened' in the sketch, to give effect to the optical
illusion that an object appears shorter than it actually is when angled
towards the viewer. Foreshortening was first studied during the quattrocento
(15th-century) by painters in Florence, and by Francesco
Squarcione (1395-1468) in Padua, who then taught the famous Mantua-based
Gonzaga court artist Andrea
Mantegna (1431-1506).

Examples

An excellent example of this type of foreshortening
in fine art painting is The
Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c.1470-80, Pinacoteca di Brera,
Milan) - a classic work of the Italian
Renaissance by Andrea Mantegna. Notice how the artist shortens the
length of Christ's chest and legs in order to represent perspective or
depth in the picture space.

Other commonly cited examples include:
Battle of San
Romano (c.1438-1440, National Gallery, London) by Paolo
Uccello [see the truncated corpse of the dead knight, bottom left]
and Supper at Emmaus
(1601, National Gallery, London) by Caravaggio
[see the shortened arms of the apostle on the right], and Study of
a Supine Male Nude (c.1799-1805, Tate) by J.M.W.Turner.

Types: Artistic
Foreshortening v Photographic Foreshortening

A sketcher or painter is likely to shorten
objects slightly differently from a camera. This is because, while a camera
never lies, an artist may not wish to replicate the full brutal effect
of foreshortening. Instead, he will often reduce the relative dimensions
of the nearer part of the object (in the case of The Lamentation,
the feet) so as to make a slightly less aggressive assault on the viewer's
eye and incorporate the truncated image more harmoniously into the overall
composition. Indeed, this is exactly what Mantegna did in The Lamentation.
He deliberately reduced the size of Jesus's feet so as not to block our
view of the body. Whereas, if a photograph was taken from the same angle,
the feet would have been so big that they would have obscured our view
of the legs and torso.

Illusionistic
Ceiling Frescos

Shortening an object is essentially an
illusionistic device to simulate depth in a picture. This enables a painter
to suggest three-dimensionality and volume in his figures. This leads
to a noticeable increase in realism. The same applies to landscapes, where
foreshortening adds considerably to the naturalism
of the view (see below). However, the most visually stunning application
of foreshortening is in architectural decoration, such as illusionistic
fresco painting, especially on ceilings. This
type of mural painting uses techniques such as
perspective di sotto in su ("seen from below")
- invented by the Forli-born artist Melozzo
da Forli (1438-94) - and quadratura
(ceiling paintings that simulate the extension of real architecture into
an imaginary space), in order to create the illusion of three-dimensional
depth in an otherwise two-dimensional ceiling surface above the viewer.

Foreshortening
in Landscapes

This technique is most commonly associated
with figures or objects, although in fact it is also used regularly in
landscapes. The road that will appear relatively long if it runs straight
ahead of us up a tall mountain, will be much shorter if it stretches away
on a flat plain in front of us. Rivers and bridges will also seem shortened
or compressed if sketched at anything like ground level. For good examples
of landscape foreshortening, see: Ville d'Avray (1867, National
Gallery of Art, Washington DC) by Camille Corot, The Thames Below Westminster
(1871, National Gallery, London) by Claude Monet, Footbridge at Argenteuil
(1872, Musee d'Orsay) and The Watering-Place at Port-Marly (1875,
National Gallery, London) by Alfred Sisley, and Road to Vladimir
(1892, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) by Isaac Levitan.

History of Foreshortening

This illusionist technique was first pioneered
during the Early Renaissance.
As well as Paolo Uccello (1397-1475), and Vincenzo Foppa (c.1430-1515)
(many of whose works have been lost), Andrea Mantegna (1430-1506) was
perhaps the greatest early exponent, and his method is exemplified in
the Lamentation and the di sotto in su ceiling oculus in
the Camera
degli Sposi frescoes (Camera Picta) of Ludovico Gonzaga's
Ducal Palace in Mantua. A younger contemporary of Mantegna was Luca
Signorelli (1450-1523), noted for his frescoes of the Last Judgment
(14991503) in Orvieto Cathedral.

After Michelangelo there was Correggio
(1489-1534), the great painter of the Parma
school, whose illusionistic methods and dramatic foreshortening -
see for instance his incredible Assumption
of the Virgin (Parma Cathedral) (1526-30) - influenced a number
of later works. These include the Assumption of the Virgin (Cathedral
of Forli) by Carlo Cignani (1628-1719); frescoes for the cupola of S.
Maria dei Miracoli in Saronno, by Gaudenzio Ferrari (1480-1546); the Allegory
of Divine Providence (1633-39, Palazzo Barberini), Four Ages
of Man (Sala della Stufa) and the Planet paintings (Pitti
Palace, Florence), by Pietro
da Cortona (1596-1669); as well as works by
Lanfranco (1582-1647), Baldassare Franceschini (16111689) and
Il Baciccio (Giovanni Gaulli) (1639-1709). The apogee of High Baroque
trompe l'oeil mural painting was
the 55-feet wide ceiling fresco Triumph
and Apotheosis of St Ignatius (1688-94), in the Jesuit church
of S. Ignazio, by Andrea Pozzo
(1642-1709). Along the way, Paolo Veronese's ceiling paintings for San
Sebastiano, the Doge's Palace, and the Marciana Library, established him
among his Venetian contemporaries as a master of foreshortening able to
combine the figurative subtlety of Correggio with the heroic figuration
of Michelangelo.

The greatest Rococo
exponent of foreshortening was Giambattista
Tiepolo (1696-1770) whose fresco paintings in the state dining room
(Kaiseraal) and the ceiling of the Grand Staircase (Trepenhaus)
of the Wurzburg Residenz proved to be the greatest masterpiece of his
career. The focus of the work is the soaring image of Apollo Bringing
the Bride (1750-1) in the centre of the Trepenhaus ceiling,
which exemplifies Tiepolo superb draughtsmanship, foreshortening and perspective,
as well as his shimmering luminosity of colour.
These architectural decorations of the Wurzburg Residenz effectively
bring to a close the Italian tradition of fresco painting initiated by
Giotto (1270-1337) four hundred
years earlier.

Other Painting
Techniques

For more illusionistic painting methods,
see:

Chiaroscuro
The use of light and shadow to suggest volume in figures.Tenebrism
The handling of light and shadow for purely dramatic purposes.Grisaille
Monochrome underpainting or stand-alone grey monotone painting.Sfumato
The use in oil painting of imperceptible graduations in tone.Impasto
Building up layers of paint to create a crusty texture on surface of a
painting.Disegno
Not a technique but the Renaissance concept of overall design.Colorito
The painting equivalent of disegno.